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117-109, 118-108, 116-110. Not even close. David Haye couldn’t back up all of his trash talk and T-Shirts. Wladimir Klitschko didn’t do anything special – just his usual dominant presence in the middle of the ring, jab and grab. It was enough for 56th career win and adding the WBA belt to his WBO, IBF and IBO titles. The Klitschko family holds all of the belts in heavyweight boxing, which wasn’t saved tonight in Hamburg, Germany.
Haye (25-2) knew he needed to be more aggressive and probably knockout Klitschko to win the fight. Klitschko might be Ukrainian, but he lives in Germany. The home advantage, with fans and judges, was obvious. Haye also knew he had to do it quickly. As the rounds blew by and Haye’s best was giving Wlad a little nick beneath his left eye, it was more and more obvious it wasn’t the former Cruiserweight’s night.
Klitschko caught Haye a couple of times with something more than jabs, but in general, just stayed confident in the middle, turning as Haye went and kept the Brit close to the ropes. During the first four rounds, it seemed the Haye did find a way of taking Klitschko out of his “rigid ways“, but also revealed a tactic that would be one of his downfalls tonight – the slip, falling on his knees every time things got a bit too hot for him. At a certain point, Klitschko was awarded a knockdown for one of those “accidental falls”.
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Round 10 came, and Haye had nothing. Wlad made the adjustments, and Haye couldn’t get another scratch on him. He didn’t seem desperate enough. He looked happy enough to make it out of the fight unscathed. Later, as Klitschko was celebrating, Haye said he had a broken toe that troubled him.
So the Heavyweight division wasn’t saved tonight. Not by Haye, and certainly not by Klitschko. There’s the Adamek – Vlad fight soon enough, but hopes aren’t high on that one either. It would be a wise bet to put your money on the Klitschko machines to age out the belts before anyone beats them. A great fight tonight would have meant a different course for the sport, but there was nothing of the sort. Welterweight remains the only real draw, and the hopes of the sport return to the chance of Pacquiao and Mayweather finally exchanging blows, someday.
Wladimir Klitschko and his brother are great fighters. Very hard to rattle, play their game plan perfectly, nearly impossible to penetrate. Good for them, great for them and their place in history, their legacy. Bad for the sport. Sad but true.
3 responses to “David Haye has no Answer For Wladimir Klitschko Dominance”
A few points:
1 – Klitschko had no home advantage, 80% of that crowd were british, you could even hear it, constant Haye, Haye Haye in the crowd as well as some serious boos when not only Klitschko’s national anthem was played but also when he was leading with his weight gain (Crowd booing because they couldn’t deal with the way boxing is played)
2 – Klitschko had him from the offset, he didn’t throw anything more than an occasional hook. everything else was jab, straight jab jab, the way a defensive feint boxer plays.
3 – Anybody else notice every time haye got hit, even in the slightest, his instant reaction was to look at the ref? I’d be in the cruiserweight class and i can honestly say with all my confidence not only in my own size, but in someone else who is even more athletic and capable, that he never stood a chance.
4 – When haye took the jab straight jab hook in the 3rd round, he obviously said “Come on then” to klitschko. The entire way through the match he was showboating, arms down and worry-free. stupid mistake for someone fighting a living legend, a class above his own.
5 – I’m british. Born in south africa and raised from the age of 1 in england. I can honestly say that Haye didn’t train enough properly, his combinations were poor, he kept going for straights and hooks on a guy with a 3inch reach and double the battle record, maybe if he advanced with some leaping hooks into some well placed uppercuts on the inside, he could of won. Shame he’s another poorly trained letdown.
Overall, well done for the 12 round bout, and well played for a cocky wannabe way over his head in shit.
I guess the UK will have to wait for a true champ like calazaghe to arise again one day.
@Grant That was weird, the whole looking at the ref thing after every hit. During the 3rd or fourth round he managed what I think is his only combination, finally getting inside without getting grabbed. I think he had a great opportunity at that moment to maybe get something out of the fight. Klitschko was offset at that single moment. Haye backed off, and I think that was the end of it. Klitschko went back to his comfort zone and Haye simply made it out safely the next 8 rounds.
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